Pretty much. But this isn't the military so I suppose were good to call it a drone. It's OK if you are unimpressed :)

Didn't say I was. I'm actually pretty impressed. Probably not about to spend the dime to get one. But I think it's cool and could see how one could get into it.

I once attempted to put a digital (single shot) camera on a model rocket to get an aerial shot of my hunting ground. It didn't work out too well. Had a heck of a time getting it to take at the right moment, and when I figured that out, all the pics were too blurry because of too much motion. Even on sport mode with a fast shutter speed. And the rocket stability was highly compromised as well.

I probably would have worked on it more but soon after, I discovered google earth, lol.

Anyway, carry on my man. I'm not nearly into photography enough to spend that kind of dime. I'm looking to record memories, not make art. But I certainly appreciate those who are into the art of it.

I didn't invest the money into it solely for fishing and photography. I've been contacted by a couple of golf courses to do aerial hole by hole previews of the course to put on their website.. with a narrative voiceover like found here

Also, I've been contacted by two different hunting shows starting and looking for a different perspective while setting up for the hunt, and doing some filler material such as showing the crew setting up, showing them walking out across a field, or out of the field with their game when its all over..

Trust me, I wouldn't spend this kind of coin if I weren't able to make some kind of return investment on in.

that is hilarious actually with the camera and rocket thing.. one of those things that sounds like an awesome idea, that evidently just wasn't in the cards... then you are like "oh hey heres google earth"

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pcray1231 wrote:Quote:

Pretty much. But this isn't the military so I suppose were good to call it a drone. It's OK if you are unimpressed :)

Didn't say I was. I'm actually pretty impressed. Probably not about to spend the dime to get one. But I think it's cool and could see how one could get into it.

I once attempted to put a digital (single shot) camera on a model rocket to get an aerial shot of my hunting ground. It didn't work out too well. Had a heck of a time getting it to take at the right moment, and when I figured that out, all the pics were too blurry because of too much motion. Even on sport mode with a fast shutter speed. And the rocket stability was highly compromised as well.

I probably would have worked on it more but soon after, I discovered google earth, lol.

Anyway, carry on my man. I'm not nearly into photography enough to spend that kind of dime. I'm looking to record memories, not make art. But I certainly appreciate those who are into the art of it.

Was probably among the early signs that I was destined to be an engineer.

Funny how none of my younger brilliant ideas panned out. We tried to make a submarine out of a 55 gallon drum. Had windows and ballast tanks. Leaked. Had to pull my buddy out of a pond with a 4 wheeler on quick notice! Tried parasailing behind a truck. Skateboard used to get up to speed. Needed a bigger field. Turns sucked, as did getting down. Makeshift luge track with a tabogan worked a little too well, and ended up bloodied in a stream....

Stories of young hillbilly engineers are always fun....

Although one in college worked and was pretty funny. Practical joke. Hooked up the ringer in our telephone to a remote. I could push a button and make it ring. I lived with 4 other guys, and we all played a trick on one guy. Just sitting in the living room watching TV, I'd make the phone ring. We'd all act like we didn't hear anything. He'd ask "isn't anyone gonna get the phone?" "What phone?" A few minutes later repeat. After a while he was going crazy thinking he was hearing things that nobody else could hear. "Now tell me you didn't hear THAT!" "Hear what?" Made it believable that it wasn't real because we could vary the cadence. We finally let him know what was up when he was about to have himself committed.

SlingerFlyRods wrote:I didn't invest the money into it solely for fishing and photography. I've been contacted by a couple of golf courses to do aerial hole by hole previews of the course to put on their website.. with a narrative voiceover like found here

my video was used with the zenmuse h3-2d gimbal, im not sure what they used for the video link i attached for the golf course

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greenlander wrote:Quote:

SlingerFlyRods wrote:I didn't invest the money into it solely for fishing and photography. I've been contacted by a couple of golf courses to do aerial hole by hole previews of the course to put on their website.. with a narrative voiceover like found here

As a technological dinosaur, I am really impressed. However, I have concerns about these things. What if the wrong people get ahold of them and actually can/do attach some kind(s) of weapons to them? What if an overaggressive police department gets some and abuses what the drones can be used for? Are my concerns possible/probable?

Your seems to be a fun item, though, and the video you took with it was interesting.

there are some laws regarding flight and where it can and cannot be flown.. I do know (not from personal experience) that it had the ability to rise up a couple thousand feet,. (someone posted a video on youtube with an altimeter) and they were contacted by the FAA that they were in controlled airspace.

as far as weapons go, It seems a bit far fetched.. I guess I could see it being an avenue for stalkers to use but I wouldn't think a stalker is going to drop 1500 to kidnap someone. but that's just me.

its with every other thing.. a golf club in the hands of a golfer is normal, but the golf club becomes a weapon in the hand of a criminal..

I can see in the near future though something bad happening with negligence using a drone and its going to ruin it for enthusiasts like myself.

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rrt wrote:As a technological dinosaur, I am really impressed. However, I have concerns about these things. What if the wrong people get ahold of them and actually can/do attach some kind(s) of weapons to them? What if an overaggressive police department gets some and abuses what the drones can be used for? Are my concerns possible/probable?

Your seems to be a fun item, though, and the video you took with it was interesting.

yeah, that's something I've been curious about, having spent a few years flying RC Gliders rather seriously. I got away from that hobby back around 2000, and back then we had to be really diligent with radio frequencies so as not to 'shoot down' someone else's plane by jamming up their frequency and we generally only flew at designated sites. I'm guessing the technology on the RC end of things has changed a good bit as digital was just coming into play when I was getting out of it. Curious how that's all taken care of nowadays with RC toys seemingly getting more and more popular bewtween these camera copters, the choppers everybody has around the holidays, etc...seems like the airspace is getting a bit more crowded.

It's been neat to watch these things develop, 7 or so years ago I remember a fella mounting a nice little camcorder to a regular RC chopper, which are worlds harder to fly than these new fangled quad copters, and trying to shoot ski movies with it. He had some success, but it was a steeeeep learning curve. Also have a buddy from my flying days who ended up out in Jackson Hole and set up shop a few years ago shooting these types of videos, looks like he's making a real go of it (I know he's got the flying chops having won multiple national titles flying gliders back in the day, nice to see him transfer those hobby skillz): http://www.onlocationaerial.com/

And regarding rrt's concerns...RC planes and choppers have been around for a long, long, long time. If somebody wanted to weaponize a toy plane or chopper (other than the guvmnt), I'm sure it would've happened by now....there're obviously easier ways to wreak havoc if that's somebody's intent.

By chance in my RSS feed this article came by about one persons opinion on The next 5 years for Drones. I can see commercial applications for them ramping up pretty quickly especially in construction and public safety. The hobbyist versions have GPS point to point controls now. Flying robots/drones/copters for many new uses are already likely ramping up.

I could see some good uses for one of these toys, but I could also see it being intercepted by #6 shot around here.

Pcray, your stories reminded me of one when I was a kid. I was obsessed with going faster (I still am). I realized that the brakes were dragging on my scooter. So I took them off, less resistance = more speed. I took it to the steepest hill I could find. It worked well 'til I needed to slow down at the bottom. I went through the sole of new shoes from dragging on the tire trying to slow down. I made it through the turn, but my Dad wasn't happy about the shoes.

Posted on: 2014/4/9 16:41

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"I think I fish, in part, because it's an anti-social, bohemian business that, when gone about properly, puts you forever outside the mainstream culture without actually landing you in an institution." John Gierach